I am 5'2 and 90 lbs. MY pony is a P.O.A or Pony of the Americas. He is 14.2. Recently my trainer told me that I might soon be too big for him and that I might be jumping past what he can jump. I have seen people on ponies smaller than mine that are bigger than me. But they don't look weird. Am I too big for him? I also have another thread going about if I should sell this pony for these reasons. Please visit that too if you can.

Endiku

09-21-2013 07:37 PM

Pft, you're a featherweight. At 90 lbs there is no WAY you're too big for him, and your height shouldn't look bad on him either unless you're long legged and he is very light boned...and most P.O.As are not light boned. You're fine.

I'm only 4'11 and normally weigh around 90 lbs (not quite that right now, but I'm sick) and I look just fine on our 12.2 and 13hh ponies. Don't worry about it. 14.2 is a very big pony, and I'd say just about any adult who was at a normal weigh (not overweight) could ride him without me even seeing him.

DuckDodgers

09-21-2013 07:45 PM

Naturally, we'd probably need pictures to really be able to see the full effect. When I was looking at horses I was 5'3 and about 105 (still roughly the same size now) and 14.2 was on the low end of what I was looking at. It's possible that if your pony is really fine boned and you are super long legged you may look a little too tall on her, but there's no doubt that you're plenty light enough for her. Depending on your age and how much growing you have left though, your trainer may be right. In the not-too-distant future you may outgrow him, but cross that bridge when you get to it.

As far as surpassing his jumping ability? I have no way of saying. There are some ponies that are super jumpers, and some full sized horses that shouldn't be pushed to jump near the height they are at.

I'm 5'7" and weighed 160lbs when I had my old gelding, who was 14.2hh and 900lbs. I didn't look overly huge on him, but my legs are really long, so I didn't feel right on him (felt like I could touch my toes under his belly lol). At 5'2" and 90lbs, there's no way you're too big for your 14.2hh pony.

Look at this way: the average cow pony is between 14 and 15hh (which is right where your guy falls), and they can carry a large adult male rider (usually 5'10"-6'1"+ and 175-250lbs) all day over rough terrain gathering cows, or in a reining or cutting pen, and be perfectly sound and ready to do it all over again the next day. If they can do that, your pony can carry you over jumps.Posted via Mobile Device

Endiku

09-21-2013 08:33 PM

^ very true. For the record, we have 13.2 and 13.3 hh STOUT ponies (Quarter Pony and a POA/Appaloosa, not sure which) that are ridden by all of the ranch hands for a few hours at a time at a walk, trot, and small bits of cantering- and a few of the hands are pushing 200-215 lbs and have big roping saddles. They sweat more than they would with me, but as long as they're in good condition and are warmed up well that do just fine with any of the guys on them.

BarrelracingArabian

09-21-2013 08:44 PM

Agree with the others I'm 5'5 about 112-118 and I generally rode a 14.2 Arab, 14.2 quarter horse cross (both lighter bone ) and a 14.1 hand thick quarter horse and I felt comfortable in all but the first 2 as I have a long torso and I felt like I was towering over them haha. But all 3 carried me with no problems through long trail rides, barrel racing, gymkhana and some endurance type rides.

GamingGrrl

09-21-2013 08:45 PM

I'm 5'9 and 170 and I ride a 14.3 (on a good day haha) horse sometimes. We do hard work, like barrels and cattle work and I've never once worried that I was too heavy for him or pushing him too hard.Posted via Mobile Device

KigerQueen

09-22-2013 12:07 AM

My arab is 14.2hh and im 5'4" and an undisclosed amount of weight over 145lbs. So no i think you are fine :)